Misunderstandings
by Know-It-All-2009
Summary: SEQUEAL TO: Raining Nights A misunderstanding between Tommy and Hayley during college leds Hayley to some deep thinking years down the road.


**Title:**_ Misunderstandings _

**Rating: **Teen

**Fandom:** Power Rangers Dino Thunder

**Pairings:** HayleyXTommy towards end

**Focus:** Hayley, Tommy

**Dedication/Thanks:** _rangermistress_, _Unforgivensangel_, & _Astro Yellow_

For someone of such intelligence and integrity you would think they would be exempt from something as trivial as emotions, as all emotions did was cause a heartache or a headache in the end. It couldn't be calculated like numbers, couldn't be broken like a code, and couldn't be erased with a simple hit of the delete key.

No, emotions where in the genetic programming of humans, whether they chose to acknowledge them or not, however, was another thing entirely.

Hayley had allowed her emotions to rule over her to long, she had figured that much out at the end of her college career. Her college years where spent working hard past the memories of her first year, the year she had met and fallen in love with Thomas Oliver.

Blocking painful memories had also become one of her special talents she had perfected over the years as well. Of being held by the one person that had your heart, being loved, truly loved, by the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with and then having it all ripped away in the blink of an eye, because of one simple mistake.

'_It's funny how your life can be turned upside when you get curious.'_ Hayley thought as she poured herself a cup of coffee and then headed back downstairs to Tommy's basement, ignoring the tell all sign of exactly who Tommy had invited over without the knowledge that Hayley was going to come by later that same day.

"My worlds already been spun out of control twice and both were because of his choice of _lovers_" she whispered almost harshly to the inanimate cup of coffee before her, hoping it would offer some answers.

As she began entering a new stream of code into the already over processed computer she tried to block out the mental images that keep invading her mind. Some memories, some private moments that she wasn't meant to see.

Upgrading the rangers' weapons and zords gave her a mind numbing task that required her full attention, running the Cyber Café didn't even require half her attention anymore. It was just a task that she was required to do and one that she could do in her sleep, allowing her to much time to think. To think about the past, how she wished things were, and how they really were.

Giving an inaudible sigh she placed her head in her hands as she allowed the sounds of Tommy and Kira overtake her mind, sending it spiraling to a happier time in Hayley's life.

'_That didn't just happen' Hayley thought as she lay sprawled across a king size bed that wasn't her own as a mantra ran through her head 'I did not just jump my best friend, I did not just jump my best friend' When he turned to face her, however, she realized that what she was trying to convince herself was a big fat lie, and she didn't lie. 'You're still here?' Tommy asked as he ran a hand through her red hair. She nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak at the moment. 'Good. I didn't want you to leave.' He said, his voice huskier than normal as he leaned over and gave her another kiss, jolting her memory from the night before.'_

Hayley shook her head, ridding it of such thoughts. After she found him with Kat, his old high school flame, everything went down hill. Not listing to reason, she moved out of his apartment, swore to keep his former identity a secret and disappeared from his life.

It was not until after the island blew up that he heard her voice again, he had moved into a small apartment in a shady part of California.

_Tommy woke to his phone ringing itself off the wall. Giving it a peculiar look since no one had that number he answered it hesitantly. _

_'Hello?' he asked, prepared for anything except what happened next_

_'THOMAS OLIVER HOW DARE YOU LET ME BELIEVE THAT YOU DIED WHEN THAT ISLAND BLEW UP! I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP SINCE!" a very familiar voice rang into his ear, rendering him temporarily deaf. _

_'Hayley?' he asked, taken aback, while trying to figure out how she got the number to his apartment._

_'No it's Lord Zedd come back to haunt you, of course it's Hayley' she said, mentally sighing at how dense Tommy could be at times. _

_Tommy blinked and then headed head first into an explanation loaded with half truths._

_'You see I just wanted to spend some time on my own….'_

_'Bull' was Hayley's response as she cut him off. 'You just didn't want to talk to me after the way I acted, I can't blame you Tommy. I just want to know what you've gotten yourself into this time.'_

_Tommy took a steadying breathe and then began the re-telling of his time on the island. When he was finished he expected an outburst from her, more yelling and cursing like never before but it never came._

_'I'm sending you an airline ticket, I live in Reefside, bring the gems with you and we can see about harnessing their power so they can be used to defeat Mesagog. When you get here I'll fix you a hot cup of coffee and you can explain further. Check your email in an hour your flight leaves next Monday.' Hayley said as Tommy heard the sounds of her delicate fingers hitting keys at a rapid pace._

_'I don't' he began but cut himself off. 'Thanks Hayley. There are times you know me better than myself. Thank you.' _

_'Don't worry about it Tommy. I'll always be there for you.' She whispered and then all he heard was the dial tone telling him she had hung up._

Hayley was shaken from her trip down memory lane as she heard footsteps on the stairs that led to the lair. Throwing herself full force into the code that sat before her she paused for only a second when he registered she was there and then she picked back up full force.

'You heard?' he asked as he readjusted his shirt he had grabbed on the way out of his room.

The haunted look in her eyes was all he needed to know.

"God, Hayley, if I had known you were…"

She cut him off with a raised hand.

"You're a grown man Tommy. You don't have to explain yourself to me." She said as she turned her chair to face him, he took a step closer and pulled up a chair next to her.

"Still, if I had known it would have never happened." He reiterated as his eyes scanned the code she had been working on, nodding his head in silent approval as he reached for the cup of coffee she had left sitting by the monitor, taking a small sip and then handing it back to it's owner who gave him her age old 'I can handle anything you throw at me' smile.

"Why does it still hurt me after so long?" she whispered as a tear slipped out, never realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud until Tommy pulled her into a hug.

"I messed up Hayley, I know that. I am sorry that I fucked up but I am not sorry for what we shared." He whispered in her ear, accidentally brushing against her hair causing both to freeze.

"What if we could have done it differently, would that have changed anything?" she asked her voice hoarse as she locked eyes with Tommy who saw the silent plea in them.

Deciding that the truth was the best option he spoke from his heart, thinking his words through carefully.

"I do still care for you. You know how my mind thinks, use one person to get over another, it rebounds. Kat was a rebound from Kim but I fell in love with Kat along the way. You where a rebound for Kat and even though we both knew it we still fell in love and then Kat came back into the picture mixing everything up. Nothing happened that night or at least anything I started. She needed a place to stay, you were out for the night, so I gave her your old room, and she tried to come onto me, if you had stayed beyond the five seconds you saw you would have seen me push her away. I tried to find you; I looked everywhere, hell I even tried to get into the student directory and when I failed I asked Billy to. He showed me a print out which said you had transferred to Angel Grove University, the one place you knew I wouldn't follow you to. I went there for a weekend anyway and saw how happy you were, I didn't want to ruin it so I stayed away and kept my distance from you and then that freak accident brought you back to me." He said, wiping away the tears that were spilling down her face.

"It was all a misunderstanding, that's all it ever was." Haley whispered to no one in particular as Tommy's hand grasped her own.

"Yes. A big misunderstanding that I intend to ratify." He replied as he pulled her towards him for a kiss.

Hayley slowly pulled back and saw the pure adoration in his eyes that was there for her and her alone, never realizing they were a mirror image of her own.

"What about Kira?" Hayley asked as she tried to pull away from him only to be held in his iron grip.

"You and I both know if anyone finds out what happened I'll land up in jail. She knows it to. We agreed to the fact that it never happened and that Trent doesn't find out." Tommy said, remembering the conversation that he and Kira had had not twenty minutes ago.

"Think we can work this out?" she asked as she toyed with a stray hair of Tommy's, twirling it around her finger.

"We'll work it out in the end." He whispered back as he pulled her into another mind blowing kiss.

**The End**

_AN: This was supposed to be a drabble but as you can tell the rabid plot bunny that's hopping around PRUnited bite me harder than I wanted it to. I'm glad it did as it allowed me to explore a side of Hayley that I wouldn't have other wise. Let me know what you think and leave a review please. _

_AN2: Look at my avatar on my homepage...it's to blame for this. It was a Christmas present from a friend._


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